Both Asian and Black
Americans Have Received Higher Levels of Discrimination During Coronavirus
Outbreak
According to a July 1, 2020
report by the Pew Research Center, Asian and Black Americans have been treated
in a discriminatory way since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic in
public interactions. About four-in-ten Black and Asian adults say people have
acted as if they were uncomfortable around them because of their race or
ethnicity. The study shows that others
have treated them differently whether they wore a mask in public. The study
also indicates that Black and Asian Americans have received more slurs or jokes
because of their race or ethnicity more than whites or Hispanics.
Aside from research studies, we
can see many of these incidents in politics, television shows, and viral
videos. In the case of racial jokes in politics, United States President Donald
Trump continued to fuel the fire against Asians and Asian Americans as he has used
terms such as “The China Virus” and “The Kung Flu Virus” when describing the
virus in press conferences in front of the international community. President
Trump’s verbiage has enabled many non-Asians, particularly his large white
following to use these derogatory terms against Asians.
In plenty of viral videos, we
have seen verbal and physical attacks against blacks and Asians. In addition,
there have been plenty of recorded incidents at places such as swimming pools
in which black families have had the management or the police called on them
because of white person feeling threatened or inconvenienced. Asians have been
attacked or berated in places such as coffee shops or restaurants without
provocation. Concurrently, racial
tensions have been heightened due to the Black Lives Matter protests that have
been taking place after the death of George Floyd during the pandemic.
